DEALS

Tom Jackson's baseball card - if he had one - would report he throws left, writes right. In his columns and blog, "The Right Stuff," southpaw Jackson provides insight into the evolving human condition from a distinctly conservative point of view.

Ranchers: One endangered species the feds couldn’t care less about

I don’t presume to have a sufficient grasp of the recent activity or the laws involved over Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy’s “trespass cattle,” but I trust both the competency and legal expertise of PowerLine founder John Hinderaker. Accordingly, his thoughtful take can be found here.

Hinderaker does not shy from conceding that the law is against Bundy, and that he has been given due process. But there’s more to this than legal proceedings, things such as tradition, an honored way of life and the fact that once upon a time, Washington and Far West ranchers had a deal. But that’s all changing now, stampeding tradition, honor and long-held agreements into oblivion.

Hinderaker suspects, among other things, the Bureau of Land Management wants Bundy’s cattle off the expanse his family has been ranching for more than 100 years as mitigation territory for desert tortoises displaced by development of a nearby solar energy complex. Then, in a close approximation of the money graf, he writes:

“But I don’t think it is necessary to go there. Rather – this is the second and more important point – it is obvious that some activities are favored by the Obama administration’s BLM, and others are disfavored. The favored developments include solar and wind projects. No surprise there: The developers of such projects are invariably major Democratic Party donors. Wind and solar energy survive only by virtue of federal subsidies, so influencing people like Barack Obama and Harry Reid is fundamental to the developers’ business plans. Ranchers, on the other hand, ask nothing from the federal government other than the continuation of their historic rights. It is a safe bet that Cliven Bundy is not an Obama or Reid contributor.”

Whether you’re on the fence or on either side of it, Hinderaker’s take is well worth the read.